Generating targeted group based offers to increase sales

ABSTRACT

A method, system and computer program product for increasing the sales of a retailer. A unit, referred to herein as the “retailer promotions device,” generates a group offer for a set of users/customers to purchase a product based on intelligent analytics (e.g., real-time attributes/dynamics such as the strategy in selling the remaining inventory). A group offer refers to an offer to sell a product at a promotional price if a number of users (e.g., users of mobile devices and/or customers online and/or customers in a physical store) agree to purchase the product at the promotional price within a time period. The group offer is sent to targeted users/customers via online and mobile devices as well as via electronic displays and kiosks in the physical store. By using real-time attributes/dynamics to generate group offers that can be sent to targeted users/customers, the sales of the retailer are likely to be increased.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional patent application of co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/967,181, entitled “GeneratingTargeted Group Based Offers to Increase Sales,” filed Dec. 14, 2010,which is incorporated by reference herein. The present applicationclaims priority benefits to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/967,181under 35 U.S.C. §121.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to electronic commerce, and moreparticularly to generating targeted group based offers to increasesales.

BACKGROUND

Many retail merchants utilize an electronic commerce (“e-commerce”) website accessible through the Internet or World Wide Web through whichcustomers can gather information and purchase products. Retailers, in anattempt to increase the number of online sales, may run various types ofpromotions, such as discount coupon codes, free shipping, etc.

However, these types of promotions are static in nature and do notnecessarily take into account the real-time attributes/dynamics (e.g.,simultaneous presence of customers online and/or in a physical store,quantity of product remaining in the inventory, strategy in sellingcurrent inventory) thereby negating the effectiveness of thesepromotions to translate into sales.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for increasingsales of a retailer comprises tracking the active presence of customersonline, on mobile devices and in a physical store in connection withproducts being sold. The method further comprises generating a groupoffer for a set of users who are viewing a product online and/or onmobile devices and/or in the physical store to purchase the productbased on intelligent analytics, where the group offer is an offer tosell the product at a promotional price in response to a number of theset of users agreeing to purchase the product at the promotional pricewithin a time period. Additionally, the method comprises sending, by aprocessor of a retailer promotional device, the group offer to the setof users whose presence were tracked in connection with viewing theproduct across channels comprising online and/or on mobile devicesand/or in the physical store.

Other forms of the embodiment of the method described above are in asystem and in a computer program product.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for increasingsales of a retailer comprises receiving a request to partake in a groupoffer for a product via online, a mobile device, an electronic displayor a kiosk, where the group offer is an offer to sell the product at apromotional price in response to a number of a set of users agreeing topurchase the product at the promotional price within a time period. Themethod further comprises providing a listing of users to receive thegroup offer who are currently viewing the product via online and/or onmobile devices and/or in a physical store. Additionally, the methodcomprises providing a listing of friends who are currently online on asocial network of a user who initiated the request. Furthermore, themethod comprises receiving a selection of users from the listing ofusers and the listing of friends to receive the group offer. Inaddition, the method comprises sending, by a processor of a retailerpromotional device, the group offer to the selection of users acrosschannels comprising online and/or on mobile devices and/or in thephysical store and/or on the social network of the user who initiatedthe request.

Other forms of the embodiment of the method described above are in asystem and in a computer program product.

The foregoing has outlined rather generally the features and technicaladvantages of one or more embodiments of the present invention in orderthat the detailed description of the present invention that follows maybe better understood. Additional features and advantages of the presentinvention will be described hereinafter which may form the subject ofthe claims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention of a retailnetwork system for practicing the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the hardware configuration of a remote promotionsdevice configured in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates the software components used in generating targetedgroup offers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4B are a flowchart of a method for increasing the sales of aretailer by generating targeted group offers in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for extending a group offer to arequester and to invitees in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order notto obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the mostpart, details considering timing considerations and the like have beenomitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a completeunderstanding of the present invention and are within the skills ofpersons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

Referring now to the Figures in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodimentof the present invention of a retail network system 100 for practicingthe principles of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, networksystem 100 includes one or more mobile devices (“Mobile Device A,”“Mobile Device B,” “Mobile Device C”) 101A-101C connected to a network102 (e.g., local area network, wide area network) via a wireless basestation 103 which is connected to one or more servers 104 (e.g., proxyservers). Mobile devices 101A-101C may collectively or individually bereferred to as mobile devices 101 or mobile device 101, respectively.Mobile device 101 can be any type of wireless communication device, suchas but not limited to, a personal digital assistant, a mobile telephone,a blackberry device, a portable computer operating on a short-rangewireless network, etc. Once mobile devices 101 are connected throughwireless base station 103 and server 104, mobile device 101 can accessweb pages from a merchant via network 102 that is provided by a retailerweb server 105 connected to network 102.

System 100 further includes a unit, referred to herein as the “retailerpromotions device” 106, coupled to retailer web server 105 and network102. A discussion regarding the hardware configuration of retailerpromotions device 106 is provided further below in connection with FIG.2. Retailer promotions device 106 is configured to generate group offerstargeted to users of mobile devices 101 (whether within the physicalstore or not), to customers online (including, but not limited, to theretailer's website, social networking sites, virtual worlds), as well asto customers in the physical store (including multiple properties ownedby the same retailer) using the principles of the present invention asdiscussed further below in connection with FIGS. 2-3, 4A-4B and 5. Inone embodiment, the users of mobile devices 101 may receive thenecessary retail application, with the user's permission, that allowsthe user's presence to be detected within the physical store. The groupoffer may also be sent to any other retailer related property, whethervirtual (e.g., online) or physical through appropriate means. A groupoffer, as discussed herein, refers to an offer to sell a product at apromotional price if a number of users (users online and/or users ofmobile devices 101 and/or customers in a physical store) agree topurchase the product at the promotional price within a time period(e.g., one hour). The term “online,” as used herein, refers toactivities that occur over a computer network, including, but notlimited to, accessing a retailer's website, social network sites (e.g.,social network sites operated by social network server 110), virtualworlds (e.g., virtual worlds operated by virtual world server 111), etc.Social network sites, virtual worlds, etc. are accessible by retailerpromotions device 106 via network 102. The term “physical store,” asused herein, refers to a brick and mortar store including the retailer'srelated properties.

As discussed above, retailer promotions device 106 is configured togenerate group offers targeted to users of mobile devices 101, tocustomers online, as well as to customers in the physical store.Retailer promotions device 106 generates targeted group offers tocustomers in the physical store via mobile devices 101 located withinthe physical store, a kiosk 107 and an electronic display 108. Kiosk 107is configured to display group offers as well as a place for a customerto register their interest in receiving group offer requests via kiosk107, their mobile device 101, online or via an electronic display 108placed at various locations in the physical store. Kiosk 107 andelectronic display 108 may display the appropriate group offer to theappropriate customer anywhere in the physical store. In one embodiment,kiosk 107 and electronic display 108 serve as a place for customers toagree to be tracked in the physical store via a video camera 109 orother presence detection technologies, including, but not limited to,biometric scans, radio-frequency identification, near fieldcommunications, etc., for the purpose of potentially receiving a groupoffer. A description of tracking the presence of a customer in aphysical store using these presence detection technologies are wellknown in the art and will not be provided herein for the sake ofbrevity. Each of these components, kiosk 107, electronic display 108 andvideo camera 109 are connected to retailer promotions device 106 by wireor wirelessly. The use of kiosk 107, electronic display 108 and videocamera 109 in connection with generating targeted group offers will bediscussed in further detail below in connection with FIGS. 3, 4A-B and5.

Referring again to FIG. 1, system 100 is not to be limited in scope toany one particular network architecture, including any particular meansfor detecting the presence of users/customers. For example, system 100may include traditional non-mobile devices (e.g., desktop personalcomputers) used by a customer to access the retailer's webstore, socialnetworking sites, etc., whose presence is detected by retailerpromotions device 106. System 100 may include any number of mobiledevices 101, base stations 103, servers 104, retailer web servers 105,kiosks 107, electronic displays 108, video cameras 109, socialnetworking servers 110 and virtual world severs 111.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a hardwareconfiguration of retailer promotions device 106 (FIG. 1) which isrepresentative of a hardware environment for practicing the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 2, retailer promotions device 106 has aprocessor 201 coupled to various other components by system bus 202. Anoperating system 203 runs on processor 201 and provides control andcoordinates the functions of the various components of FIG. 2. Anapplication 204 in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention may run in conjunction with operating system 203 and providecalls to operating system 203 where the calls implement the variousfunctions or services to be performed by application 204. Application204 may include, for example, a program for increasing the sales of aretailer by generating targeted group offers as discussed further belowin association with FIGS. 3, 4A-4B and 5.

Referring again to FIG. 2, read-only memory (“ROM”) 205 may be coupledto system bus 202 and include a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) thatcontrols certain basic functions of retailer promotions device 106.Random access memory (“RAM”) 206 and disk adapter 207 may also becoupled to system bus 202. It should be noted that software componentsincluding operating system 203 and application 204 may be loaded intoRAM 206, which may be retailer promotions device's 106 main memory forexecution. Disk adapter 207 may be an integrated drive electronics(“IDE”) adapter that communicates with a disk unit 208, e.g., diskdrive. It is noted that the program for increasing the sales of aretailer by generating a targeted group offer as discussed further belowin association with FIGS. 3, 4A-4B and 5, may reside in disk unit 208 orin application 204.

Retailer promotions device 106 may further include a communicationsadapter 209 coupled to bus 202. Communications adapter 209 mayinterconnect bus 202 with an outside network (not shown) therebyallowing retailer promotions device 106 to communicate with mobiledevices 101, retailer web server 105, kiosk 107, electronic display 108,video camera 109, social network sites, virtual world sites, etc.

I/O devices may also be connected to retailer promotions device 106 viaa user interface adapter 210 and a display adapter 211. Keyboard 212,mouse 213 and speaker 214 may all be interconnected to bus 202 throughuser interface adapter 210. Data may be inputted to retailer promotionsdevice 106 through any of these devices. A display monitor 215 may beconnected to system bus 202 by display adapter 211. In this manner, auser is capable of inputting to retailer promotions device 106 throughkeyboard 212 or mouse 213 and receiving output from promotions device106 via display 215 or speaker 214.

Retailer promotions device 106 may further include a geographic datareceiver 216 configured to receive geographic information from mobiledevices 101 if such mobile devices 101 include a geographic datatransceiver. As will be discussed in further detail below, suchgeographic information may be used by retailer promotions device 106 totrack the presence of users within the physical store. The geographicinformation may include Global Positioning System (“GPS”) data from aGPS transceiver included in mobile device 101. As is commonly known inthe art, the GPS transceiver uses triangulation to determine itslocation. The GPS transceiver may relay position data to geographic datareceiver 216, such as by using the NMEA 0183 protocol.

The hardware configuration of promotions device 106 is not to be limitedin scope to any one particular architecture, such as the configurationillustrated in FIG. 2.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” ‘module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, amagnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium maybe any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use byor in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the C programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of thepresent invention. It will be understood that each block of theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations ofblocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to product a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing thefunction/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the function/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

As stated in the Background section, retailers, in an attempt toincrease the number of online sales, may run various types ofpromotions, such as discount coupon codes, free shipping, etc. However,these types of promotions are static in nature and do not necessarilytake into account the real-time attributes/dynamics (e.g., simultaneouspresence of customers online and/or in a physical store, quantity ofproduct remaining in the inventory, strategy in selling currentinventory) thereby negating the effectiveness of these promotions totranslate into sales.

The principles of the present invention increase the sales of a retailerby generating targeted group offers to users of mobile devices 101 (FIG.1), to customers online, as well as to customers in the physical storeas discussed below in connection with FIGS. 3, 4A-B and 5. FIG. 3illustrates the software components used in generating targeted groupoffers to users of mobile devices 101 as well as to customers online andin the physical store. FIGS. 4A-4B are a flowchart of a method forincreasing the sales of retailer by generating targeted group offers.FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for extending a group offer to arequester and to selected active invitees in the context of the retailerand the social network of the requester.

Referring to FIG. 3, as stated above, FIG. 3 illustrates the softwarecomponents used in generating targeted group offers to users of mobiledevices 101 (FIG. 1), to customers online and to customers in thephysical store in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. In one embodiment, these software components are thecomponents or modules of the program for increasing the sales of aretailer by generating a targeted group offer, where the program mayreside in application 204 (FIG. 2).

The following provides a brief description of these software components.A more detailed description of these software components is provided inconjunction with FIGS. 4A-4B and 5, where their functionalities arediscussed in connection with the methods for increasing the sales of aretailer through the generation of targeted group offers.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the software components include a userpresence aggregator 301 configured to track the presence of users online(e.g., retailer's website, social network sites, virtual worlds), thepresence of users on mobile devices 101 (e.g., mobile device 101 mayreceive an application from the retailer that allows it to be tracked)as well as the presence of customers in a physical store (e.g.,customers in a physical store may be tracked via video informationreceived from video cameras 109 and/or geographic data received from ageographic data transceiver in mobile device 101, or other presencedetection technologies, including, but not limited to, biometric scans,radio-frequency identification, near field communications, etc.).

User presence aggregator 301 is connected to a co-relation engine 302,which is configured to detect the presence of other users to receive thegroup offer, such as using the buddy list in the user's/customer'ssocial profile, those users/customers that are nearby the product of thegroup offer in the physical store or the (product/relatedproduct/category/promotions) page/property in an online scenario.Co-relation engine 302 is connected to promotions rule engine 303, whichis configured to generate appropriate group offers based on intelligentanalytics.

Promotions rule engine 303 is connected to promotions router engine 304,which is configured to send the group offers, such as via online, mobiledevice 101, electronic display 108 and kiosk 107, to customers based ontheir presence detected by presence aggregator 301. Promotions ruleengine 303 is further connected to offer manager 305, which isconfigured to manage the lifecycle of the group offer as well asconfigured to track the number of current users who have accepted thegroup offer through a counter (implemented in software, hardware orcombination).

Additionally, the software components include a payment and orderfulfillment engine 306 connected to offer manager 305, where payment andorder fulfillment engine 306 is configured to process the group offer tothose users that accepted the group offer after the required number ofacceptances of the group offer.

As stated above, a more detail description of the functionality of thesesoftware components is provided below in connection with FIGS. 4A-4B and5.

FIGS. 4A-4B are a flowchart of a method for increasing the sales ofretailer by generating targeted group offers to users of mobile devices101 (FIG. 1), to customers online and to customers in the physical storein accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4A, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-3, in step 401, userpresence aggregator 301 tracks the active presence of customers online,on mobile devices 101 and in the physical store in connection withproducts being sold by the retailer. For example, the presence ofcustomers may be tracked on the product page of the retailer's webstore.The presence of customers may also be tracked based on the category ofthe merchandise being viewed by the customers online, on mobile devices101 and/or in the physical store. The presence of customers may also betracked based on the product rack being viewed by the customers in thephysical/virtual store.

In step 402, promotions rule engine 303 obtains information regardingthe product being viewed by users/customers online, on mobile devices101 and in the physical store. For example, promotions rule engine 303may obtain the current inventory of the product, the product price overtime, the product inventory strategy (e.g., need to sell the currentinventory of leather shoes before the monsoon season), etc. As explainedin further detail below, the information acquired by promotions ruleengine 303 is used to generate an appropriate group offer as well as ifsuch a group offer should be made to customers online and/or users ofmobile device 101 and/or customers in the physical store whose presenceare being tracked in step 401. A group offer, as used herein, refers toan offer to sell a product at a promotional price if a number of onlinecustomers and/or users of mobile devices 101 and/or customers in thephysical store agree to purchase the product at the promotional pricewithin a time period (e.g., one hour). One such instantiation of a groupoffer may straddle users across online, the physical store or the mobilechannel. That is, the group of users/customers in the group offer may bespread across the physical store, online store/properties or mobiletouch-points.

In step 403, user presence aggregator 301 determines the number ofcustomers viewing the product online, including the users of mobiledevices 101, and the number of customers who are in the physical storethat are currently viewing the same product.

In step 404, a determination is made by promotions rule engine 303 as towhether to generate a group offer based on intelligent analytics.Intelligent analytics may include, but not limited to, the number ofusers/customers currently viewing the product whether online, via mobiledevice 101 or in the physical store (obtained in step 403), heuristic asto how many of these users/customers would actually purchase the productat a given price, number of users/customers who expressed interest intaking part in group offers, number of users/customers who expressedinterest in accepting a proposed group offer for the product, theproduct, the inventory of the product, the strategy in selling theproduct (e.g., sell current inventory of leather shoes before monsoonseason), user/customer preferences derived from social profiles andother means (e.g., image context of upload images, past purchasehistory, wish list contents, chat contents), preferences of the friendsof the users/customers whose presence are tracked in step 401 (friendsof the users/customers whose presence are tracked in step 401 could beobtained from the buddy list in the user's/customer's social profile),preference of the merchant to make a targeted combined offer, etc.

If promotions rule engine 303 determines not to generate a group offer,then, user presence aggregator 301 continues to track the presence ofcustomers online, on mobile devices 101 and in the physical store inconnection with products being sold by the retailer in step 401.

If, however, promotions rule engine 303 determines to generate a groupoffer based on intelligent analytics, then, in step 405, promotions ruleengine 303 generates an appropriate group offer for a set of customersonline and/or users of mobile devices 101 and/or customers in thephysical store based on the intelligent analytics discussed above.

In step 406, promotions router engine 304 sends the group offer to thisset of users/customers across various channels, including, but notlimited to, online, mobile devices 101, electronic displays 108 andkiosks 107. In one embodiment, the group offer is displayed to theuser/customer as a message (e.g., a pop-up message). In one embodiment,the user/customer can indicate an acceptance of the group offer byselecting an option to accept the group offer being displayed in themessage. In one embodiment, the message includes a list of users whoreceived the group offer. In a further embodiment, the message includesan ability to start instant chat with any of the users in the list. Inone embodiment, a customer may receive a notification on his/her mobiledevice 101 if the customer has left the physical store after looking atthe product and not purchasing it.

In one embodiment, the group offer is displayed at electronic displays108 which are placed throughout the physical store, such as near theproduct being offered for sale in the group offer. In one embodiment,kiosks 107 are placed throughout the physical store, including one beingplaced at the entrance of the physical store for customers to view thegroup offers currently being offered by the retailer. In one embodiment,the customers in the physical store may indicate an acceptance of thegroup offer by selecting an option to accept the group offer beingdisplayed at electronic displays 108, kiosks 107. The group offers beingdisplayed at electronic displays 108, kiosks 107 may include a list ofother users/customers that received the group offers in question. In oneembodiment, contact information for these users/customers may be madeavailable in connection with these group offers provided the merchantreceived prior approval by the user/customer. In one embodiment, kiosks107, electronic displays 108 are further presence enabled where there iscoordination with user presence aggregator 301 to display the groupoffer at kiosks 107, electronic displays 108 at which the user presenceis detected.

In step 407, a determination is made by promotions rule engine 303 as towhether retailer promotions device 106 received an indication to acceptthe group offer from one of the users/customers who received the groupoffer in step 406.

If retailer promotions device 106 did not receive an acceptance of thegroup offer from any of the users/customers who received the group offerin step 406, then, promotions rule engine 303 makes a subsequentdetermination in step 407 as to whether retailer promotions device 106received an indication to accept the group offer from one of theusers/customers who received the group offer in step 406.

Referring to FIG. 4B, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-3, if, however,retailer promotions device 106 received an acceptance of the group offerfrom one of the user/customers that received the group offer, then, instep 408, offer manager 305 increments a counter (can be implemented insoftware, hardware or a combination) that stores the current number ofusers who have agreed to accept the group offer.

In step 409, offer manager 305 sends the current value of the counter tothe users/customers that received the group offer via online, mobiledevices 101, electronic displays 108 and kiosks 107.

In step 410, a determination is made by offer manager 305 as to whetherretailer promotions device 106 received enough acceptances (a thresholdnumber of acceptances) to process the group offer. As discussed above,if a particular number of users/customers that received the group offeragree to purchase the product at the promotional price provided in thegroup offer within a time period (e.g., one hour), then the group offeris processed. That is, those users/customers that accepted the groupoffer would be able to purchase the product at the promotional price ifthe threshold number of users/customers who received the group offerdecided to accept the group offer.

If retailer promotions device 106 received the threshold number ofacceptances of the group offer within its designated time, then, in step411, payment and order fulfillment engine 306 processes the group offerfor those users/customers that accepted the group offer. In the mannerdescribed above, the group offer may be instantly realized without theusers/customers waiting for days.

If, however, retailer promotions device 106 did not receive thethreshold number of acceptances of the group offer within its designatedtime, then, promotions rule engine 303 makes a subsequent determinationin step 407 of FIG. 4A as to whether retailer promotions device 106received an indication to accept the group offer from one of theusers/customers who received the group offer in step 406.

In some implementations, method 400 may include other and/or additionalsteps that, for clarity, are not depicted. Further, in someimplementations, method 400 may be executed in a different orderpresented and that the order presented in the discussion of FIGS. 4A and4B is illustrative. Additionally, in some implementations, certain stepsin method 400 may be executed in a substantially simultaneous manner ormay be omitted.

In addition to retailer promotions device 106 displaying the group offerto those users/customers that are believed to be interested in receivinga group offer for a product, a customer may issue a request to retailerpromotions device 106 for a product promotion (e.g., group offer) on adesignated product as discussed below in connection with FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method 500 for extending a group offer to arequester and to invitees in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-3, in step 501,promotions rule engine 303 receives a request for a product promotion,such as a group offer, from a customer by the customer selecting thegroup offer displayed online, on mobile device 101, at electronicdisplay 108 or at kiosk 107. In one embodiment, the user of mobiledevice 101 (including the necessary application installed) may swipemobile device 101 against the group offer being displayed (e.g.,electronic display 108, kiosk 107) that will indicate that the userrequests to participate in the group offer.

In step 502, promotions rule engine 303 receives product information forthe product in connection with the request of step 501. In oneembodiment, the product information is provided by the user of mobiledevice 101 via a bar code scanner. In one embodiment, the productinformation provided by the bar code scanner is attached to the requestof step 501.

In step 503, promotions rule engine 303 determines whether to create anew group to participate in the group offer or to join the user thatprovided the request in step 501 to an existing group participating inthe group offer. In one embodiment, if the user that requested the groupoffer in step 501 is the first user to request such a group offer, then,in step 504 promotions rule engine 303 creates a new group toparticipate in the group offer. Otherwise, in step 505, promotions ruleengine 303 joins the user that provided the request in step 501 to anexisting group participating in the group offer. In one embodiment, theuser may be presented with an option as to whether to join apre-existing group participating in the group offer or to create a newgroup, even if there exists a pre-existing group participating in thegroup offer.

Upon creating a new group to participate in the group offer in step 504or upon joining the user that provided the request in step 501 to anexisting group participating in the group offer in step 505, in step506, promotions rule engine 303 provides one or more lists ofusers/customers to the user that requested the product promotion in step501. In one embodiment, a list of users/customers may include those whoare currently viewing the product of the group offer online, on mobiledevices 101 and/or in the physical. Furthermore, a list ofusers/customers may include those who are currently online, such asfriends of the customer who requested the group offer in step 501, butwho may never have shopped at this particular retailer or viewed theproduct of the group offer.

In step 507, promotions rule engine 303 receives a selection of otherusers/customers to receive the group offer. In one embodiment, the userselects users/customers to receive the group offer out of one or morelists of users/customers provided to the user in step 506. In oneembodiment, this selection is made by the customer who requested thegroup offer in step 501 via online, mobile device 101, electronicdisplay 108 and kiosk 107. For example, mobile device 101, electronicdisplay 108, kiosk 107, retailer's webstore, etc., may include a listingof individuals in the physical store who have indicated that they wouldlike to be contacted for group offers. Other examples, where the usersmay be active in the store, include a listing of users of mobile devices101 (with their permission) who are currently online and have viewed orare currently viewing the product related to the group offer, a listingof individuals who have registered themselves to receive any kind ofgroup offer request, a listing of users who have shown an affinity forgroup offers, a listing of users who have previously viewed the productof the group offer in the past but have not purchased the product andare currently online, a listing of individuals (with their permission)who have the product related to the group offer listed in their wishlistand are online, and a listing of such active consumers/friends online onthe user's social network.

In step 508, offer manager 305 broadcasts the group offer to theseusers/customers (i.e., the selected users/customers from step 507) viaonline, mobile device 101, electronic displays 108 and kiosks 107 toexpand the group across different channels. As discussed above, thegroup offer is offered across many different channels, including, butnot limited to, across different retailer properties to such activeusers previously selected.

As also discussed above, the group offer displayed to these selectedusers/customers, such as in a message format, may include a list ofusers who received the group offer as well as the ability to startinstant chat with any of the users in the list. In this manner,users/customers can seek an immediate response as to whether they wouldbe interested in accepting the group offer or if they wish to discussanything among fellow members.

In connection with retailer promotions device 106 receiving responsesfrom these invitees, steps 407-411 of FIGS. 4A and 4B are applicable.

In some implementations, method 500 may include other and/or additionalsteps that, for clarity, are not depicted. Further, in someimplementations, method 500 may be executed in a different orderpresented and that the order presented in the discussion of FIG. 5 isillustrative. Additionally, in some implementations, certain steps inmethod 500 may be executed in a substantially simultaneous manner or maybe omitted.

While the term “customer” has been used to refer to those individualswho are physically present in the store and the term “user” has beenused to refer to those individuals who are users of mobile devices 101,these terms may be used interchangeably and are not to be limiting,including in the appended claims.

Furthermore, it is assumed herein that users or customers that aretracked and received targeted group offers have granted permission to betracked and receive targeted group offers.

Although the method, system and computer program product are describedin connection with several embodiments, it is not intended to be limitedto the specific forms set forth herein, but on the contrary, it isintended to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents, ascan be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claims.

1. A method for increasing sales of a retailer, the method comprising:receiving a request to partake in a group offer for a product via one ofonline, a mobile device, an electronic display and a kiosk, wherein saidgroup offer is an offer to sell said product at a promotional price inresponse to a number of a set of users agreeing to purchase said productat said promotional price within a time period; providing a listing ofusers to receive said group offer who are currently viewing said productvia one or more of online, on mobile devices, and in a physical store;providing a listing of friends who are currently online on a socialnetwork of a user who initiated said request; receiving a selection ofusers from said listing of users and said listing of friends to receivesaid group offer; and sending, by a processor of a retailer promotionaldevice, said group offer to said selection of users across channelscomprising one or more of online, on said mobile devices, in saidphysical store and on said social network of said user who initiatedsaid request.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said requestto partake in said group offer occurs by a user of said mobile deviceswiping said mobile device against said group offer being displayed atone of said electronic display and said kiosk.
 3. A computer programproduct for increasing sales of a retailer, the computer program productcomprising a computer readable storage medium having program codeembodied therewith, the program code comprising the programminginstructions for: receiving a request to partake in a group offer for aproduct via one of online, a mobile device, an electronic display and akiosk, wherein said group offer is an offer to sell said product at apromotional price in response to a number of a set of users agreeing topurchase said product at said promotional price within a time period;providing a listing of users to receive said group offer who arecurrently viewing said product via one or more of online, on mobiledevices, and in a physical store; providing a listing of friends who arecurrently online on a social network of a user who initiated saidrequest; receiving a selection of users from said listing of users andsaid listing of friends to receive said group offer; and sending saidgroup offer to said selection of users across channels comprising one ormore of online, on said mobile devices, in said physical store and onsaid social network of said user who initiated said request.
 4. Thecomputer program product as recited in claim 3, wherein said request topartake in said group offer occurs by a user of said mobile deviceswiping said mobile device against said group offer being displayed atone of said electronic display and said kiosk.
 5. A system, comprising:a memory unit for storing a computer program for increasing sales of aretailer; and a processor coupled to said memory unit, wherein saidprocessor is configured to execute the program instructions of thecomputer program comprising: receiving a request to partake in a groupoffer for a product via one of online, a mobile device, an electronicdisplay and a kiosk, wherein said group offer is an offer to sell saidproduct at a promotional price in response to a number of a set of usersagreeing to purchase said product at said promotional price within atime period; providing a listing of users to receive said group offerwho are currently viewing said product via one or more of online, onmobile devices, and in a physical store; providing a listing of friendswho are currently online on a social network of a user who initiatedsaid request; receiving a selection of users from said listing of usersand said listing of friends to receive said group offer; and sendingsaid group offer to said selection of users across channels comprisingone or more of online, on said mobile devices, in said physical storeand on said social network of said user who initiated said request. 6.The system as recited in claim 5, wherein said request to partake insaid group offer occurs by a user of said mobile device swiping saidmobile device against said group offer being displayed at one of saidelectronic display and said kiosk.